About Bone Grafting

What is Bone Grafting?

Over a period of time, the jaw bone associated with missing teeth atrophies and is reabsorbed. This often leaves a condition in which there is poor quality and quantity of bone suitable for the placement of dental implants. In these situations, most patients are not candidates for the placement of dental implants.

With bone grafting we now have the opportunity to not only replace bone where it is missing, but we also have the ability to promote new bone growth in that location. This not only gives us the opportunity to place implants of proper length and width, it also gives us a chance to restore functionality and aesthetic appearance.

Types of Bone Grafts

Autogenous Bone Grafts

Autogenous bone grafts, also known as autografts, are made from your own bone, taken from somewhere else in the body. The bone is typically harvested from the chin, jaw, lower leg bone, hip, or the skull. Autogenous bone grafts are advantageous in that the graft material is your own live bone, meaning it contains living cellular elements that enhances bone growth, also eliminating the risk of your body rejecting the graft material since it comes from you.

However, one downside to the autograft is that it requires a second procedure to harvest bone from elsewhere in the body. Depending on your condition, a second procedure may not be recommended.

Allogenic Bone

Allogenic bone, or allograft, is dead bone harvested from a cadaver, then processed using a freeze-dry method to extract the water via a vacuum. Unlike autogenous bone, allogenic bone cannot produce new bone on it’s own. Rather, it serves as a framework, or scaffold, over which bone from the surrounding bony walls can grow to fill the defect or void.

Xenogenic Bone

Xenogenic bone is derived from non-living bone of another species, usually a cow. The bone is processed at very high temperatures to avoid the potential for immune rejection and contamination. Like allogenic grafts, xenogenic grafts serve as a framework for bone from the surrounding area to grow and fill the void.

Both allogenic and xenogenic bone grafting have an advantage of not requiring a second procedure to harvest your own bone, as with autografts. However, because these options lack autograft’s bone-forming properties, bone regeneration may take longer than with autografts, and have a less predictable outcome.

Bone Graft Substitutes

As a substitute to using real bone many synthetic materials are available as safe and proven alternatives, including:

This product is processed allograft bone, containing collagen, proteins, and growth factors that are extracted from the allograft bone. It is available in the form of powder, putty, chips, or as a gel that can be injected through a syringe.

Graft Composites

Graft composites consist of other bone graft materials and growth factors to achieve the benefits of a variety of substances. Some combinations may include: collagen/ceramic composite, which closely resembles the composition of natural bone, DBM combined with bone marrow cells, which aid in the growth of new bone, or a collagen/ceramic/autograft composite.

Bone Morphogenetic Proteins

Bone morphogenetic proteins (BMPs) are proteins naturally produced in the body that promote and regulate bone formation and healing.

Synthetic materials also have the advantage of not requiring a second procedure to harvest bone, reducing risk and pain. Each bone grafting option has its own risks and benefits. Dr. Rentschler or Dr. Bruksch will determine which type of bone graft material best suited to your particular needs.

Request an Appointment
The first step towards a beautiful, healthy smile is to schedule an appointment. Please contact our office by phone or complete the appointment request form below. Our scheduling coordinator will contact you to confirm your appointment. If you are an existing patient, this contact form should not be utilized for communicating private health information.

See what our patients are saying

"Josh's experience with having his teeth out at ROMS was awesome. Your entire staff was friendly, smiling and professional. Our nurse was so kind and caring and checked on Josh frequently and helped me walk him to the vehicle afterwards. I felt as if Josh was in great hands and care the entire time we were there. The fact that you called the night of the extraction was very nice. Thank you for calling afterwards.
Josh has had zero complications, the healing went just as you indicated it would, by Monday that he would be turning the corner.
Also, including the medications in his bag of supplies was very helpful and appreciated.
Thank you for taking care of my son in a most professional caring manner."Jackie W.

"My name is Jayme. I recently had two surgical procedures done by Dr. Matthew Bruksch. I am so grateful to have him as oral surgeon. His staff and team treat you like family when you walk into their office and will do whatever it takes to help you; Whether it be, with your insurance company or your procedure. I highly recommend Dr. Matthew Bruksch and staff to anyone! Thank you so much for what you have done for me."Jayme S.

"Thank you very much. Overall it was a pleasant experience. I was very nervous coming in to have the procedure done. The nurse and the doctor were very reassuring and did a good job of calming me down. The procedure itself went great. The Dr did an amazing job and I had no pain during it. Overall I rate my experience a 10. Thank you guys very much and I would definitely refer other people to OMS. Ladies at the front desk were also very good and helpful. Everyone was very knowledgeable about everything. Again thank you."Nathan D.